busymama7
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Posts posted by busymama7
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But I looked and can't find it. It's been quite a few years. I was hoping to look back on it for more ideas for this year.
On Christmas Eve we do a big dinner and on our plate is a gift. The gift is either the same for everyone or the same/similar category. This wasn't so hard when it was myself my husband and some kids but some of our kids are grown now and it just gets so hard every year to come up with something. I will list as many of the previous ones as I can remember. We will have babies- great grandma with all ages in between.
Santa hats with their name
Christmas pillow cases (I sewed them for everyone, each one was different)
Personalized ornaments
Favorite Team t shirts
Blank journals
Books
Light sabers (toddlers got cheaper ones, babies got a teething ring with a crocheted light saber on it)
Insulated tumblers/cups
Puzzles
T shirts(individual with funny sayings)
Rechargeable camping lanterns
My mom did this growing up which is where the tradition came from but she never had this kind of age spread to accommodate. I used to keep it under $10 and would love something in that range but know it's not super practical anymore. We will likely have 14-20 some people. Not sure exactly yet. Sometimes my sister in law buys or pays for her family's gift but usually I do it because I like it to be a surprise for as many as possible. At some point we may need to switch to each individual family doing their own but I don't want to do that yet. I would like to be able to keep it up forever.
I already sew Christmas pajamas for everyone and they help me so those aren't a surprise.
I am pretty crafty, sew, knit and crochet, embroider, scrapbook etc and it's early so I might be able to pull off something hand made. I could do something like bath bombs or something but that doesn't seem super exciting for the men especially. I do have to make a quilt for my son who just got married out of all the Christmas pj fabric scraps from growing up and I'm probably sewing my husband a Santa costume so I don't have excessive amounts of time but I have some.
Thanks for any ideas!!!
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1 minute ago, Martha in GA said:
Are you using red wheat berries? I think the white wheat berries make flour that has a lighter texture/taste. I get my wheat berries from Azure (I'm a drop coordinator in my area). I make much less bread than I used to, but I have switched to using spelt. I know people who only use Einkhorn.
No I use white. Generally hard white but I have also tried soft white for non bread items. We do whole wheat for most including bread and pancakes/waffles but it's just a few things like biscuits, pizza crust and garlic knots that we just prefer white a lot. I also feed my sourdough starter with white flour. Not really sure why I just always have.
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5 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:
My Winco (grocery store) sells organic non-GMO white wheat berries in 25# bags.
When I lived in the Midwest, I bought my organic wheat from Wal-Mart. The manager there special ordered it in because there were a few of us who all ground our own wheat. The price was about half of what it is to order it online for home delivery. Before the Walmart ordered in for me, I ordered from Pleasant Hill Grain. I just looked at their pricing, though, and their super pails (43#) are now $145 which is crazy.
Azure is selling 50# bags for $37, which is about what I pay at Winco. Azure is local to me also.
Bob's Red Mill has organic oats and a lot of grains. They are also local to me, but a lot of stores carry them and I think you can still order online.
Palouse and Ancient Grains are a couple of other places that I price through.
I usually do not buy flour because so many nutrients are lost shortly after grinding. If I do, I usually buy the King Arthur organic stuff, which is easy to find in every grocery store for me.
Thank you. We have WinCo here and I usually get my wheat from there so that would be an easy enough change.
There are just things I prefer with white flour 😬. I try to do at least 1/3 fresh ground though still. Ive had a wheat grinder for 20+ years and still don't love whole wheat biscuits and things like that.
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I have too many Christmas decorations. I have too many Christmas decorations. I have too many Christmas decorations.....
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Where is everyone buying organic flour and wheat berries? For reasonable prices etc. I have a wheat grinder but also use white flour for some things.
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1 hour ago, kbutton said:
So so funny. He is my new absolute favorite comedian. I've watched everything I can find multiple times 😜
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I had one and loved it. My mom still has it and my kids play with it there 😉
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I had mine out at 28 due to problems. I was breastfeeding a baby and chose to only have local anesthesia. It was HORRIBLE. The actual experience plus the recovery. Way way way worse than child birth which I did 10 times (7 of them natural at home).
My kids get them out in their late teens.
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In my opinion it's not the gluten exactly but the lack of proper processing. Quick rise yeast seemed to be such a blessing but it prevented the long slow rise of sourdough which breaks down the gluten. We feel a big difference when we eat bread etc that is properly soured/prepared. I have close family who has been gluten free for years/decades for health and genetic reasons and can eat sourdough just fine.
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11 minutes ago, KatieJ said:
I am so sorry you lost your daughter. I have seen photos as you describe , and felt all the empathy the family deserved.
It was not wierd, just very tragic.I sincerely apologize if I offended you.
Oh not at all. Just offering a different perspective. I do absolutely think it's not something to show with no warning.
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2 hours ago, KatieJ said:
I’ll add, photos of your deceased husband…in his coffin. Two different women showed me photos, at different times. The women were sisters. One husband I had never met, the other man I knew.
I can’t even imagine taking that photo, never mind carrying it around to show people!
Well I took pictures of my baby in her casket. They are sweet and tender with my other kids looking on etc. But I don't go around randomly showing them. Very few people have seen them and they know what they are viewing when they do.
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3 hours ago, Condessa said:
My dd’s high school excuses students from finals if they have three or fewer absences, which I think is ridiculous. Either finals are an important part of assessing their mastery of the subject matter, or they aren’t. The kids were told that only absences for the purpose of school sports would not be counted towards this, that doctor’s appointments should only be scheduled for Fridays and they should come even if they were sick. (They have a four-day school week, but several of my kids’ doctors’ offices are closed on Fridays.) I told her we’re not doing that and get used to finals. I think the messages they are sending to these kids about priorities are all messed up.
Our local school does this too. It is so stupid. My kids are homeschooled in high school but have done electives and sports a bit.
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3 minutes ago, mum said:
I've had massive hair loss for 6+ months. Free T4 is 1.1 and TSH is 2.4. Both are considered 'normal' by run-of-the-mill doctor. Does anyone have experience with thyroid issues and know anything more about numbers like mine?
Thank you.
My doctor would not be ok with that TSH. Optimal is also different than technically in range. But you would need to seek alternative Drs as most wouldn't treat that.
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6 minutes ago, Forget-Me-Not said:
I’m grumpy about gory Halloween decorations. I’m talking severed body parts, zombies, etc. I’ve got a kid who is sensitive to stuff like that. Heck I’m sensitive to that. Our car wash turns themselves into a haunted house for the entire month of October with super nasty decorations, and if you go at dusk or later, they have people in costume that bang on your windows and jump out at you (also hate jump scares. I startle badly, even when I know they’re coming). I don’t use my car wash subscription the whole month because I despise it so badly.
Oh me too! I hate it hate it hate it. I don't mind Halloween itself but I don't know why it has to be gory. It's gross and I feel disrespectful of death and dying. But I find im about the only one.
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24 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:
Researchers show that people retain more information from paper books than from ebooks. I find that is my experience, too. I first looked into this research when I realized how differently I talked about books I read on a tablet versus on paper.
If I couldn't see the paper books, it wouldn't matter; I'd retain a lot more by reading the ebook than by not reading the paper book.
Emily
I only do light reading on a Kindle for a most part. Like novels that it doesn't really matter if I remember it past reading it for the plot. Anything that is more knowledge or research based is done on paper and then I have to limit it to day time and/or use glasses
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57 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:
It's the eyes getting bad.
I prefer real books, but older adults in my life tell me that they can change the font on an ebook to one they can actually see.
Yup. I'm only 46 but I can't read real books at night. If there is a lot of light I can with glasses. But my kindle can get the font big enough for my comfortable reading. I wish it wasn't so but it is.
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12 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:
I’ve done it several times…and failed several times. I totally have to now for health reasons. Any advice? Commiseration? I have a lot of herbal tea to get past the social habit of warm cups of liquid, but the brain fog is rough…
This probably isn't helpful but I estimate it took me ten years to stop craving it/sneaking it. It was HARD. And mine was only Dr pepper. I think something like coffee would be even harder. Good luck. I absolutely believe it is better/worth it. Anyone who needs a substance every day to function is not at optimal health. No offense to anyone but it's my opinion.
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Mostly at night but also while waiting for kids a lot. Like they are in lessons and I'm in the car. Gives me 30-45 mins. I don't generally read during the day unless I need to rest/lie down. And I don't feel guilty about that but I have a chronic illness so it's just life. I DO listen to audiobooks a lot during the day while doing menial work like dishes/laundry and while driving by myself. I have no qualms about audiobooks "counting". It's still reading to me.
ETA: and I bring a book everywhere so read while waiting say at the Dr office. Sure sometimes I dink around on my phone but I try to not make that a habit and I want my kids to be in the habit of using that for reading time too so we all grab a book or Kindle before we leave. I don't like reading on my phone but I will occasionally have a book on there if I forget one.
ETA2: I have had a goal for the last 4-5 years of 50 books a year and I generally make it or come very close. I am currently at 30 so might not make it this year. This only includes books I read or listen to, not ones I read to my kids.
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I have kids with low blood sugar whom I can not get to go longer than 2 hrs between food. So when I'm hosting I make sure to have something readily available in case their kids get hungry/hangry. I am annoyed too by the food at everything especially because it is junk food but I promise my kids do actually need to eat all the time 😕.
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I hate having to dye my hair but I tried to transition to gray and I didn't like it on me. I started graying in my 20's and am now at 46 completely gray. I have done it myself but prefer to go get it done. I go to someone in their home which makes it super simple and quick for me. I can text for an appointment and it's around the corner etc. I go every 5 weeks and I use a spray in between once my roots start showing in my part. My gray/silver is actually very pretty but my natural color is medium brown and I just didn't like it 😕 I don't for it for anyone else though. Just what I prefer. I am pretty low maintenance otherwise.
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1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:
The last couple years, I put up my fireplace garland (lots of conifer greenery) - but did fall foliage picks to add in. Then take them out and put more christmas type picks in after Thanksgiving.
Love it! I think we are going to go this route too. I am liking it because decorating for Christmas is a lot of work but this will spread it out a bit.
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This is so funny. Last night we decided to put up our garland on our stairs early and use fall colored bows instead of the red ones and then just switch them out when we decorate for Christmas. My family always tries to get me to decorate for Christmas in November and I don't want to because I love fall stuff. This was our compromise. I will probably also put up one of the three trees and do the same.
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I would probably do cut strawberries and whipped cream
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Yes I feel for you. It's that way here but luckily for only one college team. They will watch other games if they have free time but the schedule only revolves around the one. I have learned to just plan around it. I also assign simple chores like folding laundry or cleaning the kitchen that can be done during the game. It helps me feel less annoyed.
The part that does annoy me to no end and has made it so I don't even watch anymore is the yelling 🙄. Not like cheering or groaning but calling the coach an idiot for making some call or other such nonsense. I grew up watching and going to games with my dad and I was in marching band and I legitimately like football but I can't watch it at home anymore. I find something else to occupy myself or a leave.
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I've started this thread before....(Christmas gifts)
in The Chat Board
Posted · Edited by busymama7
Thank you! Some good ideas! I am leaning towards Christmas crackers because that does sound fun and easy and relatively cheap.
Ok but I want opinions on this. We are big on going to the beach. It's been a yearly thing for many many years. I wanted to do the nice thin Turkish towels I've seen advertised but they were so pricey for this. I stumbled on this etsy listing last night and I keep thinking it has to be too good to be true. The reviews are ok though. Thoughts?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/1211704671/personalized-turkish-beach